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Cricket players getting more field options amid changing demographics

Cricket lovers may get a new field at Pleasanton sports park
Cricket lovers may get a new field at Pleasanton sports park 02:31

PLEASANTON (KPIX) -- Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world. Changing demographics have brought the English bat and ball game to East Bay, where there is a plan to build a cricket field at a local sports park.

"He tried football, he tried basketball, he tried soccer, he tried swimming, and finally he connected with cricket," Pleasanton Parks and Recreation Commissioner Rameshu Immadi said about his own child. 

He has helped to create multiple nonprofits for the sport, including Cricket for Cubs. 

"It's just about bonding, and cricket is a common language they can connect," said Immadi.

His family story is part of a current trend that explains the expansion of the sport within just the Tri-Valley. It reflects the increase in families who come from cricket playing nations and now live in California. Immadi says about a third of students in local schools have ties to Commonweath nations, many in South Asia, where the sport has always been popular. It's helped his son to have an activity in common with their family back in India. 

"You make leaders out of them, you create a champion mind," said Hemant Buch, one of the co-founders of the California Cricket Academy. "They are very receptive and they are adjusting to the growth of the game."

Before the rise in cricket players and venues seen in the East Bay, Buch was helping families play together in the South Bay. The CCA raised the funds needed to develop a pitch in Cupertino that mimics the conditions professionals play on around the world. He says there are thousands of families who want to play this sport at all levels so it has become in the public interest to develop more fields for cricket. 

"It requires a resilience, a mind that is going to reset after frustration or disappointment," he said of the sport. "When you get a chance, you make the most of it."

He feels encouraged that Pleasanton city leaders are making cricket a priority and says public fields help other families learn about the sport. While there is enough demand already to accommodate the fields in development, he loves seeing neighbors watch the game and asks children in their programs to invite friends who are new to cricket.  

"Once you build it, like the old adage, once you build it, they will come," Buch said. 

City staff told KPIX 5 they are currently collecting community input to consider three locations for a cricket field at Ken Mercer Sports Park. The Parks and Recreation Commission will review those responses before City Council votes on the project later this year. 

In June, the city allocated an additional $250,000 to provide enough funding to convert the field for cricket. 

For Immadi, this is the payoff from years of work lobbying city leaders and eventually leading to him taking on a leadership role in the community. He doesn't want to stop with the cricket field that should be ready next summer. He is also working on a city project to build a cricket stadium in the next five years. 

"People think cricket is just a sport, it's not just a sport, it's a culture," said Immadi.

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